Putin threats to ‘throttle’ US firms like Microsoft and Zoom in words war with Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strangle American tech firms in his country, escalating the war of words with US President Donald Trump.
Putin issued a fiery statement against Western tech giants after Trump said the Russian president ‘has gone absolutely CRAZY’.
‘We need to throttle them,’ Putin said of the US firms during a meeting with entrepreneurs, after a businessman called on stifling Microsoft and Zoom.
‘I completely agree, and I say this without hesitation.’
Microsoft and Zoom remain in Russia but provide only limited services to the nation. Many other American tech firms left the country or wound down their operations after Putin ordered a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in 2022.
‘They’re trying to choke us, we should respond in kind,’ Putin said of the firms on Monday.
‘We haven’t kicked anyone out… we have provided the most favourable conditions for them to work in our market, and they are trying to throttle us.’
Putin did not elaborate on how the American companies are hurting Russia.
He spoke hours after the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Trump was showing signs of an ’emotional overload’.
Trump blasted Putin on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
‘I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!’ wrote Trump.
‘He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.’
Trump added that he has always said that Putin wants to take all of Ukraine and that ‘if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia!’
Peskov responded by thanking Trump for ‘helping start’ peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. But Peskov said the talks went ‘hand in hand with an emotional overload of absolutely everyone and with emotional reactions’.
The Kremlin spokesman added that Putin is ‘doing what must be done for Russia’s security’.
There is speculation that some Western firms are eyeing a return to Russia as Trump has tried to facilitate talks to end the war. But the words war between Putin and Trump appears to indicate that a peace deal is far from being reached.
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